Sidewalk-light



A. C. CRIMMEL.

SIDEWALK LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, 1919.

Patented Nov. '18, 1919.

WITNESSES mvmron M 7 4 A V/Z' 62m! Gil/WW2. W 7 A1TORNEY8 UITE ALVIE CLYDE CRIMMEL, 0F HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA.

' SIDEWALK-LIGHT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIE CLYDE CRIM- MEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of HartfordCity, county of Blackford, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sidewalk-Lights, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to lights or transparent tiles for sidewalks, pavements, vault covers, floors and the like.

Lights or transparent tiles for the purposes aforementionedhave heretofore usually been made of a single piece of glass, pressed into various forms to fit into cast iron frames or other constructions serving as coverings for vaults located underneath sidewalks and for other like purposes. The upper surface of the tile is in most instances exposed to the Weather, and the under surface to the vault or other inclosed space, with the result that the difference in temperature above and below the tile is often quite marked. During the summer the upper surface of the tile is subjected to the suns rays and is frequently heated to a fairly high temperature, while the under surface is cooled by the compara tively cold air in the vault; and, conversely, during the winter the upper surface of the tile is usually cold and the surface in contact with the inclosed space relatively warm. The uneven expansion and contraction of the tile due to the difference in temperature between the upper and lower portions thereof cause great strains to be set up in the material in consequence of which there is a high percentage of breakage and chipping. The damaged tiles must be replaced either because of leaks developing in the covering, or because of the unsightliness of the chipped surfaces.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a transparent tile or light which may be exposed to the varying influences of service conditions without cracking and chipp A further object of my invention is to provide a non-breakable transparent tile or light simple in design and inexpensive, which may be used in substitution for the single piece glass tile, and be readily set in place in any form of frame or construction made to hold the usual form of vault light.

In carrying out the objects above enumerated, I employ in the preferred embodiment of my invention the form of transparent tile Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

Application filed April 16, 1919. Serial No. 290,387.

or light illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan View of a familiar form of vault cover.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the vault cover shown in Fig. 1 along the line 22, illustrating the construction of the transparent tile or light in the preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 8 is an exterior plan view of the under side of the upper portion of the tile showing the annular projection thereon.

Fig. 4C is an exterior plan view of the upper surface of the lower portion of the tile showing the annular depression therein.

The tile 5 is set in a suitable frame 6 in the same manner as the well known single pable of being combined in a unitary structure. In the preferred form of my invention illustrated in the drawings, the tile is composed of two separate pieces of transparent material, preferably glass, cylindrical in shape. The upper portion 7 is shaped with an annular projection 8 and the lower portion 9 with an annular depression 10, of such proportions that when the sections are fitted together, there will be formed between them an air space 11, and the annular de pression 10 is made slightly wider than the annular projection 8 so as to permit of a slight lateral motion. The upper and lower sections 7 and 9 are separated at their contact surfaces by a washer or gasket 12 of rubber or other suitable material, making an airtight and watertight joint between the sections.

The sections of the tile formed as above described, are fitted together and set into the usual cast-iron frame or other construction designed to hold the glass tiles, and the spaces or voids between the tile and the frame are filled in with cement or other suitable binding and filling material 13, thus uniting the sections of the tile in a unitary structure.

The foregoing is a description of my invention as applied to a tile cylindrical in shape. Transparent tiles of the character described, while commonly cylindrical in form, are also made in a variety of other shapes, such as hexagonal, square, oval, oblong or, in fact, any conceivable form which may be desired. My invention obviously is equally adaptable to any such other forms of tiles.

Also it is to be noted that although I have specified in the foregoing description of my invention that the upper section 7 of the two-piece tile is formed with an annular projection 8, and the lower section 9 with an annular depression 10, for the purpose of forming air space 11, the same result may be accomplished by forming the upper section 7 with an annular depression and the lower section 9 with an annular projection.

Having thus described my invention, I

v claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An article of the class described comprising in combination, a plurality of superimposed sections of transparent or translucent material having complemental annular projections and depressions adapted to form air spaces between contiguous sections when fitted together, said annular depres sions being of a width greater than said annular pro ections, means for securing a wa ter-tight and air-tight connection between the contacting surfaces of said sections, and means for holding said sections together as a unitary structure.

2. An article of the class described, com-- prising in combination, a plurality of superimposedsections of transparent or translucent material, having co-mplemental annu lar projections and depressions adapted to form air spaces between contiguous sections when fitted together, said annular depressions being of a width greater than said annular projections, a washer separating the contacting surfaces of said sections, and means for holding said sections together as a unitary structure.

ALVIE CLYDE oRiMMEL. 

